Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari | Worth watching?

Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari, is a slice of Life Anime that many people don’t actually know about and I believe is one of the underrated Anime of the 2016 Winter Season. Have you heard of this Anime before? Chances are you haven’t, with just over 50k people either have seen or going to see the Anime. It’s not a surprise that it isn’t well-known among the Anime Community.

Episode count: 12

Here is the synopsis from MyAnimeList,
“Taking a break from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, Souta Tawara returns to his hometown in Kagawa. Though his parents are no longer around, his former home and family-owned udon restaurant reminds him of the times his family was still together. Reminiscing about his childhood, Souta enters the udon restaurant and discovers a grimy young boy sleeping.

At first, Souta thinks nothing of the chance encounter and provides the boy with food and clothing. However, to his surprise, the boy suddenly sprouts a furry pair of ears and a tail! Souta soon learns that the nameless boy is actually the rumored shapeshifting tanuki that has been inhabiting Kagawa for many years. Thinking that the boy has been living a lonely life, he decides to take him in and name him Poko.

Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari follows the heartwarming relationship between Souta and Poko, and through the time they spend together, Souta recalls his own past, the place he left behind for the city, and the relationship he had with his father.”

Worth Watching?
The answer without any doubt in my mind is yes, 100% yes. Here are the factors as to why I think you should watch Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari.

Art
Throughout the year of 2016, the art of this Anime that is one to make it stand out to the normal everyday Anime watcher. It’s playful art style, unique character design and light colours make it something really nice to look at. It’s an Anime that is very pleasing to the eye.

Soundtrack
The introduction to the Anime is very upbeat and addictive. It’ll have you moving and grooving at the start of each episode. The ambient noises, make it a really nice listen filling the mood with something worth listening to, rather than having one without something to listen to in the background as you watch the Anime. The outro, is also something that is very lighthearted and again worth listening to and matches the general theme of the Anime.

Character Design
Each character, like all Anime have their own unique design tweaks that help differentiate each character. What I thought was really cool about the character design was that they weren’t ‘hard drawn’ in, they didn’t have sharp black lines that outlined the characters shape or how they looked. Instead, the lines used to define each character had this almost ‘soft feel’ it gave off this playful, and calm feeling when you stared at them. Well that’s what it gave me anyway. There were also no pointless Anime character personalities, each personality intertwined with each other and benefited the overall feel of the Anime, it didn’t feel like a big mess.

Story
Now, the story was a little different in its approach. The story itself didn’t play much of a ‘role’ the Anime, it was more of a side story. As depicted in the Anime summary, it was about Souta overcoming everyday life things, as he tried to find who he really was a person and what he wanted to do for a living. Enter in Poko, not only does Souta have to deal with his own life, now he has to support Poko who now adds a whole new dynamic to this story.

However, that also was not the only story within the Anime. As Poko and Souta grow in relationship, Souta with the help of Poko, helps him confront the underlying problem in his life; which is Sauta’s past. This secondary story is what really is gripping about the Anime, the story itself was really relatable. Not only that, but because of Poko, Souta is able to reconnect with his sister and repair that relationship. As they both Souta and his sister come to grips that their parents are no longer with them.

What I loved about this story was that throughout all that, these two siblings were able to reconnect and find their own resolve through Poko. Proving that even at the loss of a loved one, mother and father, their love is forever and that they’ll support you no matter if they’re still there or not. Which I thought was the main theme to this Anime: Love and forgiveness. Most importantly, the ending is something beautiful and the build up to that Anime is absolutely magnificent.

Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari, for what it is worth, it is definitely a must watch! It is a lighthearted Anime, that’ll make you feel good internally and externally. It’s I believe one of the hidden gems of 2016, and is something that all people will enjoy ranging from all ages.

I personally rated this Anime a 10, on MyAnimeList and today, I still rate it a 10. I believe this Anime is that good and it is something that’ll have wanting to find more Anime like this, because believe me when I tell you, this Anime is really good.

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